The use of sandalwood in skincare is an age-old practice and most people choose the whitish version of the ingredient for this purpose. White sandalwood has gained immense popularity for its incredible skin benefits and aroma across the globe.  But do you know that the red variety of sandalwood is equally (or even more) beneficial for your skin? Red Sandalwood, also known as Rakta Chandana is a species of Pterocarpus found mostly to the southern Eastern Ghats Mountain range of South India. This tree is valued for the rich red color of its wood. The wood is traditionally considered not aromatic. However, in recent years there has been a marked uptick in the use of red sandalwood as a component of incense, especially in the west. The tree is not to be confused with the aromatic Santalum sandalwood trees that grow natively in Southern India. ‘Rakta Chandana’ is known to be one of the most reliable natural ingredients that can help you fix almost all your beauty woes when included in the face pack or face mask.

Red sandalwood is mostly valued for its medicinal properties and hence, it has been widely used in traditional herbal medicine. It has great anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, antipyretic, anti-hyperglycemic, aphrodisiac, and diaphoretic properties, which make it a perfect solution for digestive tract issues, fluid retention, cough, etc. 

Benefits of Red Sandalwood for Skin:

Red sandalwood is known to be one of the most amazing ingredients for your skin. It can help fight blemishes, acne, pigmentation, improve the overall health of your skin and more. It also helps in the removal of sun tan and dullness because of its cooling properties.

We told you that this natural herb is full of skin healing agents and nourishing oils, and thus its application can help revive your lifeless skin and bring back the lost luster. Further, red sandalwood can also make your skin radiant and smooth.

If your dry, rough skin is making your complexion dull and lifeless, red sandalwood can be your savior. Being a natural anti-inflammatory agent and highly soothing in nature, red sandalwood can heal your inflamed skin fast too.

For those who are troubled with acne or pimples, red sandalwood can work wonders. Just apply the powder in form of a face mask and your pimples will be gone in no time. The anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and soothing properties of the ingredient help a lot in it.

Red sandalwood can absorb the extra oil present in our skin and reduce the secretion of sebum, this, in turn, makes your face less oily.

Removing sun tan and pigmentation are also two key roles that red sandalwood can perform for your skin's betterment. The herb works on the skin right from the cellular level and thus it evens out your skin tone and brings out the original charm of your skin.

Artificial chemical laden scrubs can harm your skin as they can be very harsh. So, if you wish to ward off the dead skin cells and other dust and dirt particles accumulated on your skin, then using red sandalwood is the way to go. It not only exfoliates well but also gives an even texture to the skin.

How to Use Red Sandalwood as a Brightening Face wash?

Now comes the part you all have been waiting for. Drum rolls please. Ta-da! We are dropping an amazing natural face wash recipe which will make your skin flawless in no time and yes, you guessed it right, the secret ingredient is Red Sandalwood.

Ingredients

Red Sandalwood powder 3 tbsps., Organic Red Hibiscus flowers (5-7 units), Chickpeas - 5 tbsps., Organic Dried Tulsi Leaves - 10-12 nos., Wild Turmeric Root - 2 inch.

Process

• First of all, sun dry the Hibiscus flowers to remove all moisture from them. Gently grind them with the dried tulsi leaves using a mortar and pestle.
• Grind the Chickpeas in the electric grinder along with the wild turmeric and finally mix the herbs with the red sandalwood powder, chick pea and turmeric powder.
• Once this mixture is ready, store is carefully in an air tight container for further use.
• Use the powder as a face wash daily in the morning right after you wake up and at night before you go to bed.

If you happen to have oily skin, dilute the powder with rose water. For normal skin, dilute it with curd and for Dry skin, dilute the face wash powder with milk or cream to attain the best results!

Now that you are accustomed with the benefits and ways of using red sandalwood for your skin, let’s learn to differentiate fake sandalwood from the authentic kind.

• Smell the powder to see if it has a mild fragrance. Fake or diluted sandalwood powders will often have essential oils that mimic the fragrance of sandalwood added to them, which makes the fake powder smell much stronger and more pungent than the real deal. Give the sandalwood powder a good sniff to see if it has the subtle, but distinct sweet, creamy woody smell of sandalwood. Additionally, if you can’t smell anything, then the powder may be diluted and impure.
• The red sandal wood takes on a color of purplish brown, and is so dense that any piece of it placed in water will sink immediately.
• Red sandalwood is usually straight and smooth. Should not feel rough or grimy.
• Red sandalwood has a rich solid red color. It has little to no variation or visible grain.
• When cutting/scratching the Red sandalwood, you should notice it is red. The color of the bark should not turn white or any other color.

We at Soundaryah are using 100% genuine and authentic high-grade herbs and all natural 100% chemical free skin care solutions including our face wash powder which contains authentic and high-grade Red Sandalwood. We care about you and your skin therefore; we pick out the best red sandalwood as an active ingredient in many of our skincare products. All our products are safe to use, cruelty-free, tested and certified to make sure that you get the best outcome from using them.

1. Brightening Face Masque

2. Youthful Glow Herbal Face Wash

3. Intensive Body Polishing Ubtan